Meal Planning for a Very Busy Family

RunionX4

I have been wanting to start planning our meals for the week/month however we are a very busy family with different schedules and it's hard for me to get started. Any ideas? I want us all to eat healthy but my husband and I work different shifts and I do not have a big freezer to do a lot of freezer meals. I have posed this question before to different groups and sites but never really got any ideas other than to do freezer meals or just a simple answer of just start with one week. So I really hope someone on here can give me an idea of how best to start and how to stick with what is in the plan. Thank you in advance for any ideas.

lucys1225

A lot of good information here:

https://mealprepsunday.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/hello-world/

dawnz75

I had my kids help me last night make a big batch of healthy pancakes. We 4x's the recipe and now we have pancakes for the week and I don't have to think of what to make for breakfast. This would work for any meal. Make 3-4 times the batter for healthy muffins and then store them in the fridge. They will keep the week and then they can be a quick snack with all your crazy schedules.
I guess my thought is pick ONE thing to triple or more, one thing that you know you all like. It is only a little more work and can last a while. I made a pot of chicken noodle soup last week and we just finished it today. I am making spaghetti sauce tonight, it will be doubled.
I will be checking back to see what others have to say...

rugratz2015

Someone posted up a recipe for making a batch of breakfast burritos, in bulk for the week, if ye look through todays posts you may be able to find it.

17761776

lucys1225 wrote: »

A lot of good information here:

https://mealprepsunday.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/hello-world/

This looks great!!!! Thanks Gayle Minneapolis

brannewmee

How about freezing crock pot recipes and throwing it in a crock pot every morning. Idk it sounded interesting to me but I haven't tried it. Dinners ready daily no matter what time you get home.

DorisSilver50

brannewmee wrote: »

How about freezing crock pot recipes and throwing it in a crock pot every morning. Idk it sounded interesting to me but I haven't tried it. Dinners ready daily no matter what time you get home.

I never thought of that, I will have to try it!!

joanapires81

I always try to make time to do a weekly menu and put it on the board in the kitchen, getting new ideias and fresh recipes that don't take long because as you, my freezer is very small and we are a family of 5. There's tonnes of recipes that you can do in the portions you want... change4life app very great for ideas.but sticking with that menu on the kitchen board is sacred for me. Don't need to think just look in there and i know what to do as a meal. Hope i helped a little bit!

Joanbeat

joanapires81 - can't find change4life app. Could it be under a different name?

Here4Ponies

Crock-Pot for the win. My SO and I typically work different shifts and I'm rarely home in the evening. It's just me and him but I make a couple of family sized slow cooker recipes every week. They typically reheat well. The key for me has been portioning them into single servings before we eat any of it. I freeze half of the portions, leave the other half in the fridge paired up with a portion of carbs and a portion of veggies. Easy to drop into a lunch bag. Easy to reheat when we get home. Easy to pre-plan in MFP.

Ginny218

homemade instant oatmeal - many versions out there .. just put ingredients in a baggie. label it , and rolled oats add water 3min microwave at work... nice warm breakfast or snack

kriscoots

Where is everyone getting their healthy crock-pot recipes?? I have looked at a few and a lot of them are high in sodium or calories and that's sort of defeating the purpose. Also are there any tricks to freezing the meals? Certain types of freezer bags or stroage containers that work well?

allaboutthefood

I don't pre-prep our meals, but I do pre-plan them. I have found the crock pot to be a wonderful tool, you can keep your meals healthy and warm for everyone to enjoy, hope that helps a bit.

allaboutthefood

skinnytaste.com is a great site. I never add the added salt in any of the meals

NM1785

I love sinneytaste.com as well, allaboutthefood! Also try Getcrocked.com for crockpot ideas.

agbmom556

another vote for crockpot. I made salsa chicken (chicken breast +jar of salsa) this weekend for tacos. Took 1/2 and froze it in quart size bags. Then rolled the leftover chicken in tortillas and froze the burritos. I have teens that come home before I do. They eat them when they get home. Also do the same with beans and lentils.

MsJulesRenee

Every Sunday I go to the grocery store and stock up on the fresh veggies and meat that I need to the week. I pre-cut all my meat into individual, weighed pieces. All my produce is chopped into the sizes I need for the meals I will be making. Only takes me a good hour or so to chop and baggie everything. Now that all the prep is done, during the week you pull out the baggies that you need for your meal and get right to cooking! If you know you won't be home to cook the next day make sure you make enough for leftovers. You can only pre-prep so much when you can't freeze.

ActiveLeanPrincipal

I like to buy lots of dry ingredients like ginger, onions, garlic, anchovies, and other produce that can keep like tomatoes. Eggs too. Having a group of produce that I'm familiar and have various recipes (using the same ingredients) is my prep strategy. ☺ p/s: having familiar herbs, spices and sauces handy helps tremendously too. when I'm busy, I just keep expecations simple.

Iguessicandothis

We get tired of eating the same thing all week, so I try to make something versatile that can turn into a few different meals.
For example, roasted chicken one night becomes chicken quesadillas the next night, then chicken/broccoli/rice casserole, then chicken soup.
I'll also cook up a big pot of rice or pasta and just add different protein and veggies throughout the week. Leftovers can always be frozen and worked back into future meals.

layahsmom143

Down loadw the what a for dinner app. You get recipies, there is a calender that you CAN plan meal by the week or month. The once you store the meal it will be added to your grocery list. From there check off the items that you have In the house and you know what you need when you get to. The store

layahsmom143

Sorry "what's for dinner" is the name of the app,

Elnidi3

Crock pots are a good idea, I also like to pre-cook my meat and just add vegetables daily to mix it up.

hap1792

i like MsJulesRenee's idea of prepping everything and putting them in baggies. then you just pull out the baggies you need for your meal that night.

nfpswife

I keep a google calendar for the family events, and then have a menu calendar too, so I can overlap what we're eating vs. what's going on. I try to do a month at a time, do one afternoon of shopping and some minor food prep, but it's what works best for my family of 4!

hunneysue

I do several things to make meal planning and making super easy and fast. 1. I actually create a menu/meal plan. Usually 2 weeks at a time, along with grocery list to go with it. I get everyone involved so everyone in the house gets to pick stuff they are hungry for as well as at least 2 nights of "experimental" recipes. (I love to try new things!) I try to plan to either have left overs 2 nights (fend for yourself nights lol) or incorporate left overs into another meal (or two) for example, I made bbq chicken a large pot of rice and some corn coblets the other day, yesterday I took some of that rice and made fried rice out of it, and now there is both plain and fried rice in the fridge for tomorrow's fend for yourself night.

Another thing I do if I know we have a busy week is to prep as much ahead of time for the days to come (cut up veggies, make things a day or two ahead of time if they will be okay, kinda like most people do for big holiday meals), and I make more than 1 night's meal at a time. I don't freeze them, I keep them cooked in the fridge to be used the next day or day after that. Meals on the go almost!

I also utilize my freezer space. What is the worst part of meal time? cooking down the hamburger, or chicken. (Or praying the meat thawed out!) I cook up large batches of hamburger and chicken (separately) and freeze them in ziploc bags as flat as possible. Takes up small space, but easy throw togeter meals are just a defrost and add into the pot away.

Also I keep seasoning "packets" on hand. For example, we love tacos, and I buy my spices in bulk, make my own seasoning blends etc. So I have small baggies of seasonings ready to go. Also do this with some pasta for healthier almost hamburger helper meals, (add a bag of frozen veggies or the veggies I cut up earlier in the week) for a one pan meal ready to go in under half an hour.

But the best advice I can give is, start somewhere. Because routines create habits that create lifestyles. To eat more veggies and more fresh foods with a busy schedule start by prepping things ahead of time. I have friends that cook an entire week's worth of both lunches and dinners over their weekend off so they don't have to even think about what to have during the week. Good luck!

RunionX4

Wow. Thanks so much for the advise guys. We have started trying to get everyone involved in the meal planning and shopping. We are off to a good start. We had a good week last week. Today we will plan for the next week. I'm thinking a lot of crock pot meals are in the near future. I love the ideas of having the meal ready to go in baggies. Never thought of that. Will try that this week.

tmiyasato08

My favorite easiest go to for jump starting the weeks dinner. Throwing 6-8 frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker on low early in the morning. I throw in a little bit of water or chicken broth. You can use what ever you like, not much a quater cup at most-the chicken will put off it's own juices. By the time I get home from work it's finished. Remove from slowcooker and shred, you now have enough shredded chicken for at least three meals. We use it for wnc

lottiesmommalosesweight

We meal plan 1 week at a time and go grocery shopping once/week. I find that this allows my produce to stay fresh vs when I tried to do 2 weeks at a time. As for working different shifts, once of you could cook and the other eats leftovers. There are a lot of good recipes that are great left over.... for example, we love Bubble Up Pizza Casserole (emilybites.com) and she also has some wonton cupcakes that you could premake and throw in the oven when someone wants to eat them .

lachellerininger

kriscoots wrote: »

Where is everyone getting their healthy crock-pot recipes?? I have looked at a few and a lot of them are high in sodium or calories and that's sort of defeating the purpose. Also are there any tricks to freezing the meals? Certain types of freezer bags or stroage containers that work well?

I will adjust recipes to fit my diet. For example, use low sodium chicken stock for soups or make your own and freeze. Use low fat or reduced fat dairy products or mix my own seasonings and store in an air tight container. Substitute ground turkey for beef.

Just some ideas.